Point-of-care testing (POCT) is defined as medical testing at or near the site of patient care, for example at the doctor's office. Point of Care Testing systems enable quick performance of tests, for example blood tests, eliminating a need for sending samples to laboratory. Quick obtaining of test results allows immediate clinical management decisions to be made.
It is desirable that such POCT systems be simple to use and require minimal maintenance. To that end, some systems use fully self-contained disposable cartridges or strips. In fully-automated systems, no preliminary sample preparation is required and the cartridges eliminate the risk of contamination.